A High Court ruling striking down approval of a plan to build housing at a golf course will not have a great impact on Hong Kong’s overall supply of flats, but the decision will greatly affect how many homes are eventually built at the site and the timeframe for completion, the chief executive has said.

City leader John Lee Ka-chiu noted on Tuesday the housing development on 9.5 hectares (23.5 acres) of the 172-hectare course in Fanling was proposed by the previous government and was expected to be completed by 2029.

“Now that the environmental assessment report is overturned, the government must do a comprehensive assessment and public consultation again,” he said ahead of a weekly meeting of the government’s key decision-making Executive Council.

“This will greatly affect the number of flats, the density and the completion date of the project.”

However, he offered assurances that Hong Kong’s long-term housing goal of constructing 300,800 homes over the next decade was still on track.

“The government has sourced enough land to construct more than 308,000 flats,” he said. “The single change in the site’s development will not have a huge impact on Hong Kong’s overall housing supply.”

In October, the government announced it aimed to supply 440,000 homes in the next 10 years, including the 308,000 flats.